I'm Calling, I'm Falling
by GothicPenguin367
Summary: After the camp is violently attacked by the Others, Boone is left with a Claire in extreme agony and cannot find Shannon anywhere. Claire/Boone, with Shannon/Boone and Charlie/Claire. WARNING: Gore, smut and strong language
1. Chapter One

**I'm Calling, I'm Falling**

Warning: Rated for slight gore, smut and strong language

Pairings: Claire/Boone, with some Shannon/Boone and Charlie/Claire

Summary: After the camp is violently attacked by the Others, Boone is left with a Claire in extreme agony and cannot find Shannon anywhere. Claire/Boone, with Shannon/Boone and Charlie/Claire. WARNING: Gore, smut and strong language

**CHAPTER ONE**

All that filled my ears was the sound of screaming. I did not register it, I had to run. My pulse quickened as my breathing became more and more laboured. But I had to find her. I had to find Shannon.

None of us had seen it coming. No warning. Not even the slightest clue. How had the Others infiltrated us so easily? You would have thought we would have known. You would have thought we'd have a plan.

_Boone laid in his tent, daydreaming. About Shannon. He knew it was wrong. She was his step-sister. Family. He was supposed to care about her, but not like this. He wasn't supposed to yearn to touch her. He wasn't supposed to get jealous whenever she dated another man. He wasn't supposed to orgasm when she kissed him and pulled him down on the bed, like that night in the hotel room. No, he certainly wasn't. Yet, step-sisters weren't supposed to fuck their step-brothers either. He wasn't the only one in the wrong. Yet, he was the one who was in love._

_He had cared about her in this way for almost as long as he could remember. He had always known he had loved his sister more than his friends loved their siblings, he always knew their relationship was different. Boone guessed she had always known too. She had told him that she knew he loved her. Did she have feelings for him too? He had wondered this on that fatal night in Sydney. It wasn't a sisterly act had she pressed her breasts up against his chest. It wasn't a sisterly act when she kissed him. It certainly wasn't a sisterly act when ripped off his clothes. But, as soon as the sex was over, Boone knew that, to Shannon, it was meaningless. She had told him to forget about it. Nothing happened. And she felt nothing._

_He had always known she was twisted. She wasn't necessarily a bad person, Boone just thought her to be lost. Yet, on that night, Boone realised how wicked she could really be. It was bad enough that she had conned so much money out of him, but then sleeping with him, using him like that. He couldn't believe it as soon as it had happened. Yet, when Boone looked back, he realised that he should have known and shouldn't have gone through with it. Now, all that was different, was he was hurting more than he had previously thought possible. The event didn't seem to affect her in the slightest. She still treated him the same: like her slave. This is what he was, really. And the worst part was, Boone enjoyed it. He would forever be her slave, if he had the choice._

_That was when Boone had heard it. The screams. The sound of gunfire. The sounds of struggle. Boone had sped from his tent, into No Man's Land. In the dark of the night, it was hard to distinguish faces, but he knew, it was the Others. He could see some of his fellow castaways being dragged away, into the jungle. Some screaming and struggling, some motionless. Some were firing guns at who they thought were the attackers, panicked and their aim extremely off course. Boone ducked to dodge a bullet as it roared over his head and pierced the roof of his tent. Some of the castaways lay on the ground. In the dark of the night, their blood was almost luminous, as it stained their clothes and their faces. Boone knew, he had to get out of here. He had to find Shannon. Where would she be? Was she alright? Was she hurt? Been taken away? Or worse?_

Why hadn't someone prepared a plan for if the Others attacked? They had always known that it was a possibility. And now it was happening. No one knew what to do. And the consequences were already devastating.

_Please review if you want more )_


	2. Chapter Two

**CHAPTER TWO**

Boone felt his face collide with the sand on the beach ground as he tripped. He turned back to see what the obstacle had been, and a small shout emitted from his mouth. He saw the form of Claire, her mouth smeared with blood. She was hacking dangerously, the amount of blood she was coughing up terrified Boone. She lay twitching on the ground. The blood was running down her neck, making contact with the collar of her shirt. Boone saw a figure approaching the vulnerable woman. Was it one of them? Boone couldn't afford to wait and find out. He scrambled to his feet and scooped Claire up into his arms, and ran. Ran as fast as he could. He had no idea where he was going; he knew he had to get Claire to safety. And find Shannon. But he didn't even know where to look.

Boone felt Claire begin go to limp in his arms. He panicked. Was she going to die?

"Don't you dare go out on me!" Boone shouted, as he ran. Although he had doubted that Claire could make sense of what he was saying, he felt her stiffen and wriggle slightly in his arms, in an attempt to stay awake. Boone swung his head around vigorously. He seemed to have run far enough out of the radius of the Others. He would be able to run faster without Claire, to make a better search for Shannon. He was terrified that he hadn't found her yet.

He lay Claire down at the of someone's tent; he could not tell whose it was. He laid her down carefully. Her eyes were tight shut, and she thrashed about as soon as he put her on the ground. Then she began to scream. The sight was horrifying. Claire mouth was wide; and her eyes were squeezed shut. Blood splattered out of her mouth as she screamed It flew onto her trousers and disguised her face. Her jeans were stained red as blood flowed fast out of her vagina. He did not take time to consider this, as he put his legs on either side of Claire's body in an attempt to hold her still. He pinned her wrists to the ground. She continued to scream and tried to get away from Boone's grip. Blood sprayed his face, but he tried to ignore it.

"Claire!" He yelled. "Can you hear me?" Claire didn't respond, she just continued to thrash. "Claire, it's alright! You're going to be okay! Calm down! It's Boone! You're going to be okay!" Boone felt Claire begin to slow down beneath his legs. Was she dying? Or was she calming down? Her screams began to quiet.

"Claire can you hear me?" She didn't respond. Boone began to panic. "If you can hear me, nod, or something!" Boone yelled. Claire moaned slightly. Boone sighed in relief. She was alive. "Claire, you're going to be okay. Just relax." Boone heard her mumble slightly. He leaned in closer, and put his ear an inch away from her mouth. He heard that she was repeating one word over and over.

"Aaron." Oh god. Where was Aaron? There was no way that a baby could survive out here on his own…

Just then, Boone saw Hurley charging past them. Boone moved off Claire and raced after him.

"Hurley!" He screamed. Hurley promptly turned to face Boone. "Have you seen Shannon?" Hurley shook his head. Boone's pulse quickened and his heart raced even faster. Where was she? "Well, could you watch Claire? I don't think they're coming out this far." Boone led Hurley over to Claire, and was relieved that she was rolling over. She's still moving.

"Dude." Hurley whispered, upon seeing Claire.

"Look after her!" Boone shouted after him, as running from the pair. He had to find Shannon. She had to be okay. She just had to.

He ran for all he was worth. Even though his felt his breath faltering, he could not stop. He scanned the ground, inspecting every body. Yet to no avail. He saw faces he recognised. Faces he knew would haunt him. But none of them Shannon.

His legs forced him to stop, as they fell to the ground. He hadn't even realised that he had been crying, as red streaks flowed freely down his face, the teas smeared with Claire's blood. He summoned all the breath in his lungs, and screamed.

"SHANNON!"

"Boone?" It wasn't Shannon's voice, Boone knew that, but still he clambered to his feet and gazed around for the owner of the voice. He saw a battered Sayid charging towards him. Sayid was bleeding profusely from a deep wound in his left arm, and was limping as he ran.

"Boone." He gasped, as he fell to his knees at Boone's feet, gasping for air. As Sayid looked up at him, Boone suppressed a gasp. Sayid face was tear-stained, as Boone's was. Yet Sayid was a soldier. He had been to war before. Why was he crying? Before Sayid spoke, Boone knew that he was about to receive information that he didn't want to hear. Dread filled the pit of his stomach, and his eyes prepared to cry even harder.

"Shannon." Sayid gasped. "She's gone."


	3. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE**

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Boone screamed into the older man's face. Sayid's face crumpled and he gasped to keep from falling apart.

"She was taken. By them." Sayid gasped between tears. Boone fell to the ground beside Sayid. His legs could no longer support him. His body could no longer support him. His face flowed with a whole new set of tears, and he shook violently.

"I was there. I saw them." Sayid whispered, a pain etched in with his voice.

"Then why didn't you stop them?" Boone screamed, despite being merely inches away from Sayid. Boone felt anger rise up inside him. Sayid was there…yet they still got her… As Boone looked at Sayid's face, he could tell that Sayid was asking himself the exact same question.

"There was nothing I could do." From Sayid's tone, Boone knew that Sayid himself didn't even know if this was entirely true. So what did happen? Boone realised he did not want to know the detail of Shannon's capture.

Boone smashed his fist into the harsh sand repeatedly, until his knuckles began to bleed from the friction with the brittle sand. He let himself scream. Sayid was silent in front of him, sitting so still that he could easily be mistaken for an inanimate object. They took her. Why would they take Shannon? Why did they do this? Was she hurt? Boone knew nothing of how she was. Have they hurt her? God knows what they would do to her now that they had her. They were capable of horrific things, as this night proved. Boone shuddered as his mind played through many possibilities of the fate of his step-sister.

Boone hadn't noticed that, amidst all the chaos, dawn had risen. Early morning light burned Boone's skin as he continued to pound the ground with inner agony. As the light rose, Boone could now see the amount of people lying motionless on the ground. Many had limbs reaching at unnatural angles, some with their eyes tight shut and others wide open. Blood stained the sand below many of these people, and the majority were more red than any other colour. Quite a few people were walking around, attempting to help those who could not help themselves. Boone only now registered that the Others were now gone. Boone also noticed that some of the castaways were missing. Boone supposed that they had either escaped, or they had been taken – just like Shannon.

Boone looked up as he heard someone approaching him. Sayid did the same. It was Jack. Boone studied him, Jack seemed to be quite bruised, but only had a couple of small wounds, from what Boone could see. Jack knelt down next to Boone and Sayid.

"Are you two okay?" Sayid nodded lightly, but Boone merely stared at Jack. How could he ask such a stupid question?

"Boone?" Jack asked, but Boone did not speak. When Jack put a hand on his shoulder, Boone recoiled at the physical contact, and screamed again.

"Of course I'm not fucking okay!" Boone jumped to his feet and ran. Ran until he could run no more.


	4. Chapter Four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

When Boone stopped running, he realised that he was standing, knee-deep, in the sea. Yet he did not care.

Where was Shannon? What happened to her? What _was going _to happen to her? He couldn't' understand. She was the strong one. The one who always survived. So how was it that she was captured, and he remained here? How was it that they were so apart? How was it that he couldn't save her? How was it that the one time she needed him, he wasn't there?

He sat down in the waves. They thrashed against his neck, cutting off his breathing for a split second with every beat. As the waves got higher, he allowed the water to enter is mouth and nose. As the tide came in further, he allowed it to flow over his head. He did not know how long he sat there. All he knew was that by the time he felt someone dragging him out of the water, the sun was high in the sky, and he struggled to breathe as of all the salt water he had taken in. He spluttered, causing fountains of water to emerge from him mouth, and landing on his already soaked body. He realised that all the blood from the previous night had been washed away, and in its place, Boone had been given a sense of determination. He would get Shannon back. He would save her.

Boone glanced up at his rescuer, and recognised him as Desmond, the man from the hatch.

"Not going to drown yourself like that, brother. Have to go out further for that." The bearded man attempted a smile down at Boone, which he ignored. Boone stood up, but he barely got a metre before he fell back down again.

"Might want to take it easy." Desmond advised, propping Boone into a sitting position, and sat himself across from Boone.

"So what were you doing out there?" Boone looked down at the ground. Nothing. He hadn't even properly registered that he was in the water at all. All that was on his mind was Shannon. Desmond didn't complain when Boone didn't reply, he just watched Boone in silence. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Boone spoke shakily,

"I'm going to get her back." His voice hadn't quite recovered from the chaos of the previous night.

"Your sister? Aye, I heard she was gone. How you gonna do that then?" Desmond asked.

"I don't know." Boone admitted. He had sat thinking for all that time. He had no idea. He didn't know where to find the Others, and even if he did, what then? Charge in? He couldn't even use a gun.

"I heard you saved that Claire girl." Desmond stated. At this, Boone finally met his eyes.

"Claire…is she okay?" Boone had forgotten all about her. All he had cared about was Shannon. Suddenly, all the images came rushing back to him. The thrashing, the blood, the screams.

"She's alive." That's all Desmond said. That was enough for Boone. He couldn't expect her to be well, when not even a day had passed. Another memory came back to Boone.

"Where's Aaron?" He asked.

"He's fine," Desmond replied. "The Korean couple grabbed him when they saw Claire was out, and ran for it. They're back at camp now." Boone sighed with relief. If Aaron was gone…Claire would be… well, broken was an understatement. "Come on," Desmond stood up. "I'm taking you back." Boone did not protest, he let Desmond take his arm and pull him to his feet.

"Wait," Boone said, as Desmond slung Boone's arm around his own shoulder. "How did you know I was out here in the water?" Boone felt Desmond freeze. After a moment, Desmond replied.

"You don't want to know, brother." Desmond continued propping Boone up. Boone did not press the matter. He only now realised that he was incredibly tired. Desmond supported Boone, and they began to walk slowly back to camp. Or what was left of it.


	5. Chapter Five

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Even they eventually returned, Boone noticed that a lot more people were now walking around. However, he also noticed that quite a number of bodies had been moved to one side. The dead. They needed to be buried, but now was not the time. Right now, they needed to get those still alive back to health. Even though the sight sicken all those who looked in that direction.

Desmond immediately took Boone to see Claire, on his request. Desmond helped Boone down to sit beside Claire, and then left the tent in which she was resting. Jack was knelt over Claire so Boone could not see her. When Jack retracted, Boone saw her pale, ghostly face. Right now, she could be mistaken for one of the dead. Boone was chilled when he looked at her; in her face were all the emotions of last night, even though it was motionless, her features calm. Traces of blood could still be seen on close inspection of her face, but most had been washed off. Her clothes had been replaced to make her more comfortable. When Boone looked at her, he could not believe that she was alright. He shuddered, and took a deep breath.

"Is she going to be okay?" Boone asked, his voice faltering. Jack turned to him sadly.

"She'll live. But I don't know what the long lasting effects will be." Jack turned back to Claire, but Boone was not satisfied. He knew Jack was hiding something.

"Jack…you can tell me." Boone said. Jack sighed in response, and turned to face Boone again. "What happened to her?"

"She took a severe attack to her reproductive system. She was hit with an incredibly hard force. It turns out…she was carrying a very young baby. It died in her womb from the hit." Jack sighed deeply. Boone took in a deep breath. "As well as that, it means probably that she won't be able to conceive any more children."

"Oh god." Boone whispered, and gazed at the woman laid next to him. She still had Aaron…but she would never have another. It would never be her decision.

Jack began to stuff various items into a small bag, and took a sympathetic gaze down at Claire.

"We should leave her to rest." He muttered, and he left the tent, indicating for Boone to do the same. Boone followed the man out into the sun.

"Jack…" Boone followed Jack as he moved onto his next patient, one who was not too seriously hurt. They were dozing lightly against the trunk of a tree, and had a leg wound. "Yes?" Jack began to pull out some bandages to put on the patient's leg.

"We've got to get them back." Boone exclaimed determinedly. Jack was silent for a moment as he attached the bandage.

"I know." He sighed. Boone thought he heard sadness in Jack's tone.

"Do you have a plan?" Boone asked, speaking faster than usual in desperation.

"No." Boone lowered his head in disappointment. "But Kate and John went after them last night."

"Have they come back?" Boone asked, hopefully.

"No."

"Well, we've got to go too." Boone stated. Jack finished with the bandages and began to move towards the next patient.

"Not you." Jack replied. Boone was stunned; he stopped walking. "Sayid and I are heading off in the morning." Jack added.

"Why not me?" Boone demanded, hurrying to catch up with Jack.

"Because," Jack knelt down to a person with what looked like a bullet wound in their shoulder. "You would slow us down." At this, Boone was furious.

"What?" He shouted. Jack stopped and turned to him.

"Boone, you can't even shoot a gun."

"John trained me! I'm good with daggers. I'll be useful." Boone scowled at Jack. He couldn't believe this. "I've got to save Shannon."

"We'll save Shannon." Jack stated. "I'm relying on you and Jin to stay here and protect the camp, in case they come back."

"What was with that 'you-can't-even-use-a-gun' crap?" Boone scoffed. Jack just shook his head.

"Will you do it?" Boone considered it. He trusted Jack, and however much he hated to admit it, he trusted Sayid. They would rescue her – if she wasn't already… gone.

"Fine." Boone muttered reluctantly, and walked away. He may regret this.


	6. Chapter Six

**CHAPTER SIX**

By the time that Boone woke up the next morning, Jack and Sayid had already left. The sun was already fairly high up, he had slept in for a while. He had slept soundly from early evening – he had been exhausted. He felt a lot better rested, and for a moment, he had forgotten what was going on. He was brought back to reality when he left his tent and looked around. A lot of people with still deep injuries, and torn tarps, to name but a couple of the differences in the setting.

Now that he was staying behind, he didn't know quite what to do with himself. He strolled for a couple of metres down the beach, and then spotted Sun standing outside Claire's tent. He hurried to approach her.

"Hi." Boone greeted. "You alright?"

"Yes, thank you." Sun smiled at Boone. "Me and Jin got away unharmed." Boone nodded. "I'm taking care of the patients, but Jack has mostly set them up and what most of them need now is time."

"What about Claire?" Boone inquired. Sun's smile struggled to stay in place.

"She needs rest, but Jack says she'll be able to get up in the next few days." Sun smiled reassuringly at Boone. "She's awake, if you want to see her." Boone gazed at Sun, and smiled back at her.

"Thanks." He moved to go in, but Sun stopped him.

"But…it's best if you don't say anything about her…injury." Sun said quietly, so Claire wouldn't hear. Boone nodded. "Or that she lost the baby. Jack says it's possible she didn't even know about it yet." Boone nodded again. "Or about…" Sun gulped. "Charlie." Boone was confused. Charlie? What about Charlie? Before Boone could ask, Sun was walking over to Jin. Boone shrugged and entered the tent.

Boone was surprised to see Claire sitting up, and she held Aaron in her arms. She was unrecognisable from the girl he saw yesterday. She was still pale and looked as is she would break at any moment, but she was smiling. She was letting Aaron suck her finger, and cooing at him. When Boone came in, she looked up and grinned happily at him. When he saw her face, her couldn't match her with the woman he had carried the other night.

"Hey." She said warmly. She watched as Boone sat down in the same place had had yesterday. "Would you believe it? He's alright! Nothing on him!" Claire gestured towards Aaron, and laughed in delight. Boone smiled at her joy – it was good to see, but surprising in the circumstances. When Boone didn't speak, she gazed at him, and grinned again.

"I hear that you're my hero." She laughed. Boone nodded lightly.

"I guess you could say that." He sighed. Claire looked at him, concerned.

"You okay?" She asked. Boone almost laughed at the irony of the question. Claire, the one who was ill, was asking Boone, who didn't have a scratch on him, if he was alright.

"They… the Others… they took Shannon." He looked down at his hands.

"Don't worry about that." Claire stated. Boone looked up at her in shock. "I mean, she's strong, isn't she?" Claire hastily added. "She'll be fine. If anything, it's the Others that we need to worry about." Boone did not find the joke at all funny, but he smiled at her attempt to cheer him up.

"Thanks."

"It's nothing." She smiled calmly at him. "Nothing compared to what you did for me, anyway." Claire yawned, and put Aaron into the crib next to her simple bed. "I think I'm going to have a little sleep." Boone nodded, and got up to leave. Yet he stopped as Claire spoke again. "If you don't mind, could you send Charlie in? I haven't seen him yet." Boone stiffened. What had happened to Charlie? Boone hadn't seen him either.

"Right." Boone muttered, before leaving the tent. It was at that moment, when he remembered. One of the bodies outside of his tent that night. Charlie was dead.


	7. Chapter Seven

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

About a week had passed since that dreadful night. There was still no sign of Jack, Sayid, Shannon…anyone. Everyday, he had visited Claire. And everyday, she had asked after Charlie.

"Can you get him?" She'd say, and Boone would simply nod, not saying anything. Boone worried that she was beginning to get suspicious. Boone had started to make excuses, like "He's bandaging someone", "He's out getting food" or something like that. Every time, Claire would believe him. He felt awful to lie to her, but he didn't want to be the one to tell her. He couldn't tell whether he was looking out for her, not wanting to cause her more pain, or whether he was just being selfish. He and Claire had been getting on very well over the past week. They spent most of each day together, even when she slept, Boone stayed in the tent and watched her.

He hadn't realised how beautiful she was; the way a few locks of hair strayed away from the others and hung over her face, the way a smile completely transformed her face, the way her brow furrowed when she was deep in thought. Sometimes, he even thought that she was more beautiful than Shannon. She certainly treated him a lot better than Shannon ever did. In that one week, Claire had shown him more kindness than Shannon ever had. When he looked at Claire, he didn't see flashes from that night anymore. He just saw Claire. He never knew that you could like someone this much after only properly knowing them for a short while. He had even found himself flirting with her a bit, well, if he was honest, more than a bit. He wasn't sure if he had imagined it, but sometimes, he thought that Claire was flirting with him back.

Claire could walk now. She was a lot better – even Sun was impressed with her recovery. Boone had suggested that it may be partially due to Claire's upbeat attitude. Sun had agreed; not many people who had received such an injury were so cheery. But Claire was just happy to be alive, and that she had Aaron. And, Boone thought to himself, because she didn't know what had happened to her, or about Charlie.

Jin was making Boone's job of protecting the camp redundant, as he was patrolling a radius he mapped out himself a couple of times every day and a couple more at night. Boone thought he would have hated to not be doing anything, but he didn't mind, since it meant he got to spend all of his time with Claire.

Many of the injured were healing well, some of them just about completely recovered. The atmosphere in the camp was considerably higher than it had been a week ago, people were becoming less paranoid. Some of the braver ones were even starting to venture out to the caves to get more water. The others were still rationing the water that was already at the camp.

The sun was beginning to fall, when Boone and Claire set out for their evening walk along the shore line. They passed Jin, who was on one of his rounds, and sometimes splashed their feet in the water. Sun was taking care of Aaron while Claire walked, just until she was back to full strength.

Right at this moment, Claire was walking in a very shallow edge of water in her bare feet, while Boone carried her shoes. She lightly kicked the water up into the air occasionally, smiling happily whenever she did.

"Boone." She said.

"Yeah?" He looked at her. She was still kicking the water, but she was silent for a second.

"You were in love with Shannon, weren't you?" Boone stopped in his tracks.

"How did…?" He couldn't believe it. Was he that obvious?

"I can see it. Don't worry, it doesn't really show." Claire smiled. "It's just when you're pregnant you don't really have much better to do than watch people." Boone froze. Did she know that she had been pregnant before that attack of the Others? Did she know that she had lost the baby? "You know, with Aaron." She added, when Boone didn't respond. He sighed with relief. That was one less issue to worry about. In the past week, she hadn't shown any signs that she had known about the baby.

He often wondered why he was so protective of Claire now. Was it because she had been hurt so much? Because he wanted to protect the one good thing going for him at the moment? He still wasn't sure whether he was trying so hard to protect Claire, or himself. Either way, he knew that he cared deeply for her. She was so kind, and she made him better just by the sight of her.

"Claire." He muttered.

"Hmm?" She turned to face him, walking backwards through the water.

"You're probably my best friend here." He smiled at her. She was. He didn't really talk to too many people on the island often, besides Shannon and John. John was more of a… teacher, than a friend. And Shannon… was Shannon.

"Mine too." Claire responded. "Seeing as Charlie as disappeared off the face of the earth." She laughed. Boone grimaced. It had been a whole week, and still she didn't know. She deserved to know.

"Claire…" He began. Yet he found he couldn't continue. He couldn't tell her. As soon as he started, images came back to him. Her screaming face, the blood spurting from her mouth, her smeared face, her screwed up features, her thrashing body. If he told her… she'd be feeling that all over again. On the inside. He couldn't do that to her. He just couldn't.

"What?" Claire asked. Boone shook his head.

"Doesn't matter." He needed to distract her. "How's Aaron?"

"You should know," She laughed again. "You see him everyday."

"Yeah I do." Boone laughed back. He had started to laugh again, since being around her.

"Is there any food for when we get back?" She asked. Boone smiled. He had distracted her.

The two could see the camp ahead of them. They had walked for an hour, and Claire was now feeling in need of nourishment. The two were talking together of a nonsensical topic, and laughing, when Claire came to a sudden halt.

"What…?" She said. Boone turned to see what she was looking at. All the bodies had been buried by Jin now, and all the graves had been marked with their names. Boone and Claire were now standing directly across from the grave marker which read 'Charlie Pace.'


	8. Chapter Eight

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"WHAT?" Claire screamed. She was standing completely still, her eyes wide.

"Claire…" He tried to put his arms around her, but she threw him back and charged towards Charlie's grave.

"What is this?" She screamed. Boone just looked at her sympathetically. "He's…he's not… so why?" She stuttered.

"Claire…" Boone sighed. Claire stared at him, and then charged. She stood inches from him, and shouted.

"He's not dead! So why is there a grave? What sick joke is this?" Boone put his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Claire. It's why we didn't want to tell you-" Boone began, but he was interrupted by Claire slapping his hands of her shoulders. The expression on her face was one that Boone had not seen before. She was scowling deeply, and tears were brimming in her eyes.

"You knew?" She gazed at Boone in disbelief. Shit, Boone thought. "You KNEW? You kept this from me?" Boone couldn't say anything. He should have told her. "You lied to me? You knew?" She screeched. She began pounding on Boone's chest. "You KNEW?" She pounded harder and harder, and screamed all the while. Boone seized her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. She continued to punch him and scream for a few minutes, before she slowed down. Boone looked down at her, and sighed sadly when he saw that she was crying. This had to happen sometime. It was inevitable. All he could do now, was to look after her all over again. He cuddled her into his chest, and she grasped him tight.

When her legs gave way, Boone helped her to the ground and sat with her, never once letting go. She cried for what seemed like a lifetime. Boone couldn't bear to see her like this. She was hurting again. Something he had tried to prevent.

With each sob, Boone remembered another moment from that night. Another expression of pain on her face. Another scream. Another cough of blood. Another dead face. Another gunfire. He gave in to tears as well as Claire. The pain of the memories. He couldn't take it. He sobbed into her shoulder as she did into his. Whenever Claire's cries slowed for a moment, so did Boone's. Whenever her cries rose, so did his. So when her cries stopped, so did Boone's.

After an eternity of silence, Claire finally spoke. Her voice sounded as if it was going to fall out of her at any moment.

"Is there anything else…I don't know?" She asked quietly. Boone sighed. He may as well tell her. She moved to sit next to him, facing the ocean. She cuddled her knees in to her chest, which reminded Boone of a child.

"Before…that night," Boone gulped. "You were pregnant. You lost the baby." He waited for a moment. To Boone's surprise, Claire didn't cry again. She merely stared out at the waves, and muttered quietly,

"Oh."

Boone decided to continue. "And Jack says…you got some damage to your… reproductive system…" He swallowed. "…so you can't have any more babies."

After a moment of silence, Claire asked, "Ever?"

"Ever." Boone responded.

"Oh." She said again. "Right." Boone was worried. She didn't seem upset, merely… indifferent.

"You okay?" He asked. Claire kept her gaze on the water.

"Yeah." She replied. Boone frowned. Wasn't she upset? Did she understand what he was saying? When Claire said nothing more, Boone stared out at the waves as well. The sunset was a brilliant red tonight. The silence concerned Boone. It felt…wrong. Awkward. Eventually, he'd had enough. He shifted himself to sit directly in front of Claire. When he did, he was shocked. Her face was tear-stained, with fresh tears running down stale tear tracks on her cheeks. How had he not noticed she was crying? He kicked himself mentally, and put his hand on Claire's shoulder.

"Claire? Are you-" Yet he did finish his sentence. For Claire had reached up, and kissed Boone full and hard on the lips.


	9. Chapter Nine

**CHAPTER NINE**

Boone recoiled slightly in shock. What was happening? Claire… was kissing him? Boone didn't understand. She had just received this awful news… so was she just looking for comfort? Like Shannon was just looking for a hit? But Claire… was different. She wouldn't deliberately hurt him. She wouldn't do this unless she actually had feelings for him.

"Boone… kiss me." She whispered. Boone found himself instantly pressing his lips against hers. They felt so soft, he fell in love with them instantly. Their lips comfortably fitted together. Her face was incredibly wet, he could feel her tears stinging his own cheeks. Yet that didn't put him off. He wanted to kiss her desperately. He wanted to… fuck her. She tasted so good. Better than he had imagined. Like…paradise. Heaven.

Claire ran her tongue along Boone's lower lip, seeking entry to his mouth. He eagerly let her in, and met her with his own tongue. She grasped his shoulders desperately. He pulled at her waist, and his erection began to press up against her. She pulled away for a second. Boone became nervous. Had he put her off?

"Not here." She whispered. Boone grinned mischievously. He understood. He whisked her up into his arms, and raced over to her tent. As soon as they were in, their lips were once again together. He lowered her down onto her back, and placed his legs either side of her. She lifted her legs in response and wrapped them around Boone's waist. She bucked up against him as Boone struggled with her shirt. Claire pulled herself into a sitting position, and raised her arms so Boone easily pulled off her shirt. She then pulled off his, and kissed his bare chest while she worked on the buckle of his jeans. He moaned; and helped Claire pull off his trousers. She lay back as Boone pulled off her trousers, and he gazed at her as she lay on the ground in nothing but her underwear.

"Oh god." He grinned and she bit her lip. He jumped down on top of her, and began kissing her stomach. She bucked and groaned in pleasure. He placed his hands around her breasts. At the touch, Claire groaned.

"Boone." She rolled Boone over so that she was on top of him. She ripped off his boxers, and leaned down, lightly kissing Boone on the lips before moving down to bite his neck. He instantly fiddled with Claire's underwear, and then ran his finger along Claire' clit. He couldn't wait any longer. When he entered her, Claire whipped her head back and bit her lip to keep from screaming. As Boone came, he groaned loudly, grasping onto Claire's waist.

As soon as it was over, Claire fell off Boone, so that she was lying beside him. Despite Boone's exhaustion, he wanted to hold her. Claire. His Venus. He wrapped his arms around her, and she nestled her head onto his chest.

"Boone?" She asked timidly.

"Hmm?" Boone caressed her hair.

"Was that wrong?"

"No." He kissed her forehead. "Not at all."


	10. Chapter Ten

**CHAPTER TEN**

When Boone awoke the next morning, he felt happier than he ever had before. He was waking up with Claire. The woman he… loved? Did he love her? Yes, Boone believed he did. His kissed her forehead. She was so special to him. He loved her…because she saved him. Not once during the sex did he think of Shannon. It was all Claire. He loved Claire. Claire. Claire. Claire. He kept thinking her name over and over again. Every time he did, his smile grew.

"What are you smiling about, Mister?" Claire asked. Boone jumped a little, he thought she was asleep.

"You." He replied. Claire responded by kissing him softly on the lips.

"Claire?"

"Yeah?" She nuzzled into his neck.

"I think I lo-" He began, but he was cut off.

"What was that?" Claire asked. Boone listened, there were sounds of shouts from outside. Were the Others back? Oh god. Boone and Claire hurried to throw some clothes on and ran out of the tent.

"What is it?" Boone shouted to Sun. She instantly ran over to the pair.

"It's Jack. They're back!" She laughed with joy and ran to the opening in the jungle, followed by Claire and Boone.

There was a gathering of the surviving castaways, crowding around… yes, it was definitely Jack. And there was Kate, standing close to Sawyer. Boone had heard that she had gone to save Sawyer in particular. The two of them seemed relieved and rather happy. Boone smiled at the sight. A group of others who had been taken emerged from the jungle. Boone searched for one in particular. And there she was. Shannon. Looking a little more battered than usual, but overall the same.

When her eyes settled on Boone, she squealed and charged through the crowd towards him. What was the hurry? Boone was worried she was going to hit him. Instead, she flung her arms around him. Boone was surprised at the warm greeting, but he didn't complain. He embraced her back. She was finally back. Shannon was finally back with him. He had wanted this so much. He had gotten more than he expected, even, with the embrace Shannon had willingly chosen to give him. Shannon hugs were a rarity.

He found himself unable to breathe when Shannon pressed her lips against Boone's. She placed her hands on his neck. He found himself responding to the kiss. He had loved Shannon for so many years. He had often dreamed of kissing her. This scenario was better than he had ever dreamed; Shannon _wanted_ to hug him. She _wanted_ to kiss him. Yet, Boone found that he wasn't enjoying it as much as he had thought. Why? He knew why. Claire. He broke off the kiss and looked around for her. She was gone. Shit. She must have seen.

Shannon pressed her hand against Boone's cock. She smiled cheekily.

"Miss me?" She asked seductively. Boone didn't enjoy this gesture either; he was merely irritated by it.

"No." He said bluntly, and ran away to look for Claire, leaving Shannon standing alone, incredibly confused.

He raced towards Claire's tent, thinking it to be the obvious place for her to be. And he was right. He heard her moving around hastily inside the tent. He stood outside.

"Claire?" He asked nervously. God, he hoped she hadn't seen. She'd just… forgotten something.

"Fuck off!" She yelled back. Shit. She'd seen. Boone attempted to go in to the tent, to be met with an airborne water bottle as it narrowly missed his head. He retracted and stood outside the tent again.

"I said, FUCK OFF." She screamed again. "Or better yet, go fuck her." Boone ran his hand through his hair. Shit.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

"Claire, please…" Boone called through the opening to the tent.

"Go on. Let's say, I _dare_ you. Go on! Then come back and tell me how it was!" She screeched. Boone jumped as he heard Aaron begin to cry. Boone listened to Claire trying to soothe the baby. As soon as Aaron's cries died down, Boone tried again.

"Claire, can I come in?"

"What, and make Aaron cry all over again?" She retorted. Boone sighed.

"Well, if we keep shouting through the tent like this then he _is_ going to cry again." Boone replied. Claire was silent for a moment.

"Well, go away then." She replied.

"That's not going to happen." Boone stated. "So either let me in, or you come out here." Boone waited. Nothing happened for a minute. Boone thought that maybe Claire was choosing to simply ignore him. But then, the entrance to the tent was held open at arm's length by Claire.

Her hair was all over her face. She was tear-stained, yet fresh tears were flowing, like yesterday on the beach. All the contents of the tent had been flung around. Claire refused to meet Boone's eye and determinedly looked at the roof.

"What do you want?" Claire demanded. Boone jumped at her sharp tone.

"I'm sorry, Claire…_she_ kissed _me_." He stared at her as she began to laugh.

"Yeah, and you hated it, right?" She continued to laugh cynically.

"Well yeah, I wanted to get back to you…" Boone replied.

"What utter bullshit." Claire exclaimed. "She kissed you, you didn't push her away, you kissed her back – and you loved every fucking minute of it."

"No, Claire, that's not…" Boone tried to keep calm.

"So what was I, Boone?" She folded her arms. "A hit?"

"NO!" Boone yelled.

"So what, then?" She asked.

"I LOVE YOU." Boone screamed. Claire seemed taken aback, and she actually looked at Boone for the first time in the conversation. Claire hesitated, she furrowed her brow in thought – in the way that Boone cherished.

"Well, that doesn't matter now, does it?" Her voice shook.

"Yes, it does." Boone moved towards her. "It means everything." He put a hand on her arm. "You saved me, Claire." She whipped her arm away.

"How, exactly?" She scoffed.

"You helped me get over Shannon." He said.

"Yeah, so much that when she kissed you, you bloody orgasmed." She shouted.

"Claire, its not-"

"Look, Boone." Claire met his eye. "You kissed her back. Fact. Within 12 hours of sleeping with me."

Boone hung his head. "I know, but…" After a second's silence, Claire muttered,

"I think you should leave." She had dropped her gaze.

"Please, no." Boone moved towards her again. It killed him that she retreated.

"Look, I don't need this right now." A tear ran down her cheek. "I've lost a baby, I can't _ever_ have any more, and I've lost the man I loved. So I don't need your shit, Boone." The tears started flowing freely down her cheeks now.

"Claire, I can look after you."

Boone was surprised when Claire laughed again. "Funny enough, Charlie said that. And he died."

"Claire, I mean it."

"So what, Charlie didn't?" She yelled. Boone was silent. "Look Boone, I loved Charlie. But even he couldn't look after me. I can look after myself. All men have let me down."

"Claire, I won't."

"Yes you will, Boone! You already have! I want you to get out." She shouted.

"So did last night not mean anything to you?" Boone shouted back.

"Of course it did. I cared about you. But I didn't, and don't, love you. I never have, and never will." Boone recoiled, hurt.

"So why did you do it?" He asked quietly.

"Like I said, I cared about you. And I was distraught. I loved Charlie, and it turns out, I was pregnant with his baby, and I lost it! But don't you dare turn this on me, you're the one who betrayed me." Claire screeched.

"How could I betray you when you didn't love me?" Boone yelled.

"You don't have to love someone to be betrayed by them. Anyway, you didn't give me the chance to love you. The day something could have started, you run off and make out with your sister!" She yelled. "I think you should go. I don't want to see you again." She muttered. Boone didn't move.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said quietly. He looked at her for a minute, waiting for her to take it back. She just scanned the roof with her eyes. She wasn't going to.

"Fine." He muttered, and walked out.

Boone stood outside of Claire's tent for a moment. He couldn't hear anything. Not the sound of any tears, the sound of any movement. He knew that was the last time he would ever speak to Claire. He knew that every time, from now on, Claire would blank him whenever she saw him. He knew he would miss her every day. Boone sighed and walked away. Walked away from the best thing to ever happen to him. From the possibility of a… good life. Happiness. A single tear rolled down his cheek, and that's all that he allowed.

"Boone, can you get me some firewood?" Shannon called. Boone sighed and set off towards the jungle. Back to the same old life. The life of servitude.

_I hoped you enjoyed this. Please review!_


End file.
